Who am I?

You can check out my story here:  http://www.wwltv.com/news/health/Doctor-says-strength-training-needed-to-keep-weight-off-140099113.html

My name is Tanee and this is my weight loss story.

I have three kids, married to my high school sweetheart and from New Orleans (we moved to a small town called Ponchatoula after Katrina). I was overweight my entire life and gained 80 pounds with my first child. I didn't reach my highest weight of 360 pounds until I fell into a bad bout of depression after I had my third child. 

I decided to do something about my weight after my oldest son decided to run away from me in a parking lot. He almost got hit and I didn't have a chance of catching up to him. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. He was about to turn seven and is on the autism spectrum (Asperger's). I didn't start my weight loss regimen right away after that. I looked at all of my options and decided to start with the old Core plan through Weight Watchers (kind of like South Beach).

Starting was so overwhelming but I pulled on my big girl pants and just started. I totally rethought all of the food I kept in the kitchen. I threw out the stuff that wasn't on my list and replaced it with stuff that was. Luckily my husband and the rest of my family was super supportive.

As things progressed, I began counting Weight Watchers points and eventually counting calories. I think that this is a mental game for most people and they get it in their heads that if one thing doesn't work or they get tired of doing it then it's better to just quit rather than tweaking their routine and habits. It's not -- tweak people!

Exercise was something that I slowly integrated into my routine. I started out by purchasing one of those mini-steppers for $30 at Walmart and I could only last like five minutes at a time on it. I progressed to walking, the elliptical, workout DVDs, and then I started running and doing way more. I now love exercise!

It wasn't easy to get to where I am and I still have daily struggles, but I'm very glad that I persevered. I knew there was a fit girl there, underneath all the fluff!